January WIPocalypse (a bit late)

I am getting to this a bit late for reasons.
I'm also backdating it (I'm actually writing it on Feb 14th), because I can (muaahaha).

January was an incredibly busy month.  Not to get overly political, but the US political game became an utter (bigger?) shit show and I've gotten far more involved than I have been in the past (apparently this is how the GOP is going to go about making radicals - good on you, GOP!).   

I live in NC, which is one of those states where things are at an interesting (if that's even a good word for it) tipping point, and I feel it is my duty as a citizen to do what I can.   

That said, there's been a lot of activism and a lot of craftivism that's cut into my stitching time.

ALSO, I swear to the sweet baby octopus that I took pictures of my WIPocalypse progress, but guess what!  I can't find them anywhere on my device.  I'm simultaneously bent out of shape about it and too lazy to actually do anything about it, so I'll just have to use my words!

Let's roll:

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I went on a trip to Vegas over MLK weekend to visit and stitch with friends.  What's really cool is that I stitched on three other people's pieces!<3 div="">

I worked a little on Dracula, and I swear the fabric is more blue, less tomato

I worked on Deco Spirits for a bit - I started the water block, but I can't find a picture :(

And I started on a Glendon Place Dessert - Fruit Cocktail, that I purchased at Stitcher's Paradise.  My first 2017 start!

At Stitcher's Paradise, I also purchased a Victoria's Sampler State kit - California and a couple of other things I cannot remember off of the top of my head (dangit).   I also got the threads and beads for Letters for Nora - A (plans!).  I didn't really purchase much.

At the quilt store we visit every year (Quiltique), I got a pattern for a friend (she had posted it on FB and others had also posted it on her wall - haha), and I got a few fat quarters.  I got three to make another needleminder book (with Tula Pink fabric), and I purchased three fat quarters that I will use to make the wall hanging with the VS states that I want to get finished.

And after that there was the Women's March in Washington (yes, I went, it was awesome).   I got in on the PussyHat making and made around 30 hats (so many hats!).   Between the long flight to and from Vegas and a huge delay that had me at the airport for nearly 8 hours, I knocked tons out!

Seriously, here's my "Carry-on":

This was one of the boxes I mailed off to the PussyHatProject (I also gave out hats locally and I think we must have given away another 20 hats at the march itself, because I kept finding them everywhere, like I couldn't even keep track of what I had made, and my friend Michelle also made a stack of polar fleece kitty hats):

My one march shot I want to share, because it was so awesome!   A quilted! sign:

I didn't get much other stitching done, now I'm working on rainbow and brain hats (wheeeeeee).  I have slacked off a bit, but I should pick them back up.  I think my first WIPocalypse finish will be Dracula (I forgot to list it on my WIPocalypse, but it definitely qualified).

And in the middle of all of that I've been job hunting, so I've been out with that quite a bit.  Yay me.

Question of the Month – What Stitch-a-Longs (SALs) are you participating in this year?

I have been horribly remiss about reading my stitching blogs, so I'm not sure what I'm missing out on, to be honest.   I know I'll be taking part in WIPocalypse, TUSAL, and TW October for sure.   When i get back to reading regularly, if I see any that look good, I'll join in (I'm also hoping for another SoloSeptember).

I haven't made my new ort jar for this year, but I am keeping them in a glass separate from my 2016 orts.  I need to make a 3D thing for my 2016 orts and I'm thinking of the Hands On Design Block Party Vino (I hope I got that right).

Weekend Progress - stitching and home wrecking!

More craftivism, yay!

This is my block from Stitch for Syria - I did it on 14 ct aida, as "instructed,"  which turned out to be a bit difficult because I don't use aida normally.   I ended up raiding a kit I had on hand (I was planning on stitching it on some other fabric anyway).  I used Simply Shaker Grape Arbor for the piece... In retrospect (or rather, after viewing other pieces), I kind of wished I had gone with two colors on this one - well I can always stitch it again if need be.

Stitch for Syria, Finished 5 March 2016

Stitch for Syria is hosted by Concern Worldwide, and Mr. XStitch actually designed the chart that you can stitch.

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My goal this weekend was to stitch March's update for last year's Zodiac Mystery (Pisces), while I binge watched House of Cards, but I wanted to finish off the block that I was working on for BoInk... and then I was really enjoying it and did another block instead... so there's that.

Two blocks, yay!

June 17th block, finished 5 March 2016

July 29th block, Finished 6 Mar 2016

I had to learn the hard way about watermarking my photos.   Someone reposted my photo, not maliciously or anything, but without any credit or information, so not only was it reposted without me realizing it, when I did find it (it was in a Facebook group), I saw a few queries wondering what pattern it was and other info.  Even if I wasn't slightly miffed that I wasn't credited, I felt kinda bad for anyone looking for information about the pattern and not getting it.    Oh well, so now I get credit and if someone has any questions I can help.

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On Friday, my car went kerblooey on the freeway (seriously, driving down the Interstate at rush hour to look down and see your car is about to redline is not awesome), and *of course* that was the same day that I was going to a neighboring down 45 minutes away for my next home improvement project.  Luckily!  A friend lived near the project piece and was coming to my neck of the woods to visit other people and he played shuttler for me (also, thankfully the TV was only $20, and it wasn't an imposition for him to "lend" me $20 for a couple of hours).   Oh, and no worries, car should be fixed Wednesday.  It just needs a new, expensive, rare radiator... because reasons.  I had to get my axle boot repaired anyway, so I'm out money I wasn't expecting, out 8 hours of vacation time I didn't want to spend, but no one was injured and I can get a ride to the bus to work in the morning and the mechanic will shuttle my butt from work to the dealership on whatever day I get my car back (hopefully Wednesday).

But here's my new toy!  It's a 1972 Zenith console TV.  I need to gut it, and that's the terrifying part.  The tube either acts as or outright has a capacitor that will hold a dangerously high charge for a really long time, so I have to discharge it before I gut it (and then take it to the appropriate waste place).  I've read up (a lot) on how to safely discharge the unit.   On a good/bad note: there was an older mid-century TV console they were also selling that was stylistically way more awesome, but someone got to it before me, the good news about this is that the '72 TV was born after they started making the tube implode (instead of explode) if it got cracked (for safety reasons, duh), so while I'll be careful and safety-geared out, at least that part is a bit safer.    After I gut it, I will paint it, hopefully clean up the trim, and outfit the inside to act as a liquor cabinet.  I'm super excited about it, and the only thing I'm having to look into is the durability of the particular paint I want to use.  Either way, good times for more home wreckin'!

Weekend Craftivism, 5.4 Million and Counting, #DrawTheLine

This weekend was pretty nice.

We held a game day on Saturrday, so lots of games were played.   Nothing as Euro-y as I'd like, but it was still pretty fun.

I also managed to finish a lot of the binding on some needlebooks I'm working on.   I might have pictures of them soon.  I'm really pleased on how they're coming out (particularly because I'm not great at binding yet).

But on Sunday,  I had a small Get Together and we stitched for the 5.4 Million and Counting project, which is also being used for the Draw The Line challenge.  I even had Mimosas as a "fuck you" to the CDC and their victim blaming infographic (which has been taken down).   Our pieces won't make it to the main quilt event (Monday/today is the deadline to be received), but they are continuing to accept submissions after that since the decision will probably take a little bit to be rendered.

Here's the blurb:

On March 2nd, 2016, the United States Supreme Court will hear the most important reproductive rights casein almost 25 years. The decision will determine whether Texas can shut down nearly all abortion care providers in the state and prevent 5.4 million women of reproductive age from accessing the healthcare they need. Using craft as activism, artist Chi Nguyen — in partnership with the Textile Arts Center and the Center for Reproductive Rights — is holding a series of stitch-ins to make physical the number of women whose right to safe and legal abortion is currently at risk. With each line representing an individual woman, the 5.4 Million and Counting project is only finished when all 5.4 million lines are embroidered.

I waffled back and forth on how I wanted to do my piece.   People were doing different colors, stitching hashmarks so that the overall piece looked like shapes (like hearts).  Some people were doing HUGE hashmarks, and some were doing tinies.

I did decide that I wanted it to look primitive and sloppy.   Kind of like how lives are messy in general.   If only everything everywhere and in every way were neat and tidy, things would be so much better, right?

And then I decided to stay small and just do as many as I could (though I went larger eventually).   And I like how it looks like a prisoner's hashmarks of doing their time, because that's how I feel some days as a woman in America.   I'm happy with my result.

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And now I need work on my Stitch for Syria.   #Craftivism, yay!